Community Development

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the next meeting of the organisations taking part in the Where We Live programme will take place; and whether a representative from his Department will attend.

Margaret Hodge: The Where We Live programme is now known as Living Places. The programme is delivered through a partnership between the five leading national cultural agencies, DCMS, DCLG and the Regional Cultural Consortia.
	The Living Places Officers Group will meet on Monday 19 November 2007. The Living Places Chief Executives meeting will take place in January 2008 (date to be confirmed). A representative from DCMS is expected to attend both.

Departmental Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at which functions during the last 12 months his Department incurred hospitality expenses and how much has been incurred on each occasion.

Margaret Hodge: Expenditure on official hospitality is made in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting, the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety and the Department's internal guidance on hospitality. The Department's expenditure on official functions during the last year (to October 2007) was £5,970. Details of individual functions are not held centrally and can be identified only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Appointments

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to publish the report by Mike Dixon on the appointment of a departmental chief scientific adviser; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: I am due to meet the Government Chief Scientist to discuss Dr. Dixon's report and consider what approach is most appropriate for my Department. I anticipate publishing the report, alongside our response, in the new year.

Television: Licensing

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much the TV Licensing Authority has taken in fines in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2004;
	(2)  how many fines the TV Licensing Authority issued in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2004.

James Purnell: Fines are issued and collected by the courts, not TV Licensing. According to information reported to the Ministry of Justice (formerly Home Office) court proceedings database, 96,192 persons were fined in 2004 for offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949 and 1967 and the Communications Act 2003, the majority of which relate to TV licence evasion. The figure for 2005 was 118,029. The total amount of fines collected is not recorded centrally.

Television: Licensing

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the TV Licensing Authority is able to estimate the number of people who own a television but do not have a licence.

James Purnell: The BBC estimates the evasion rate across the UK to be 5.1 per cent. The estimated number of evaders is 1.32 million.

Television: Licensing

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in each constituency in Northern Ireland were in receipt of the free television licence for over 75s at the latest date for which figures are available.

James Purnell: TV Licensing, who administer free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the estimated number of households in each constituency in Northern Ireland with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2005-06, based on records held by the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development, was:
	
		
			  Parliamentary constituency  Estimated number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment, 2005-06( 1) 
			 Belfast East 6,049 
			 Belfast North 5,359 
			 Belfast South 5,180 
			 Belfast West 3,654 
			 East Antrim 4,295 
			 East Londonderry 4,261 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 4,611 
			 Foyle 3,681 
			 Lagan Valley 5,044 
			 Mid Ulster 3,939 
			 Newry and Armagh 4,685 
			 North Antrim 5,683 
			 North Down 5,644 
			 South Antrim 4,276 
			 South Down 5,167 
			 Strangford 5,007 
			 Upper Bann 4,728 
			 West Tyrone 3,875 
			 Missing postcode(1) 275 
			 Total 85,413 
			 (1)( )In producing this analysis, individual records were attributed to parliamentary constituencies (PC's) on the basis of their postcode. Not all records can be correctly allocated to a PC using this method.

VisitBritain: Finance

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the marketing budget for Visit Britain is in 2007-08.

Margaret Hodge: VisitBritain's allocation of DCMS grant in aid for 2007-08 is £49.9 million. VisitBritain have told us they will spend £35.5 million on overseas marketing and the remaining £14.4 million on domestic marketing.
	In addition, a further grant of £750,000 was made to VisitBritain in August 2007 for additional marketing support for the domestic tourism industry, following the flooding in July.

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Neighbourhood Watch schemes are active; how many of those receive Government funding; how many there are in each Government region; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Neighbourhood Watch schemes are set up on a voluntary basis and are not subject to monitoring by the Government, it is therefore not possible to state how many schemes are currently active. The Government do not directly fund schemes or associations but provide support through the funding of public liability insurance; publications and literature; maintenance of a website and managing the Neighbourhood Watch logo.
	As of 1 November 2007, 127,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes in England and Wales had registered for public liability insurance via the Home Office Neighbourhood Watch website.

Terrorism: Nuclear Weapons

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to amend the Terrorism Act 2000 to include the use of radiological weapons in the list of weapons and substances that fall within the scope of the Act.

Tony McNulty: We keep all of our legislation under review and the issue of whether to include radiological weapons in the list of weapons and substances that fall within the scope of the Terrorism Act 2000 is currently being considered.

Climate Change

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account is taken of initiatives to reduce emissions and develop clean energy technologies in determining policy on market mechanisms, with particular reference to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Phil Woolas: Market mechanisms, such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), play an extremely important role in tackling climate change by encouraging the cost of carbon to be included in production and consumption decisions.
	However, as the Stern review highlighted, by itself carbon pricing will not be sufficient to tackle climate change cost effectively for the longer-term. The Stern review suggested that a three-pronged approach is necessary for tackling climate change: carbon pricing; technology policy; and the removal of other barriers, such as consumer inertia and misaligned incentives.
	The Stern report highlighted that technology policy was an important requirement for bringing down the cost of carbon abatement over time and ensuring the necessary degree of technological development. Under the EU ETS the allocations for new entrants are based on best available technology benchmarks, which helps to ensure that new installations are developing clean and efficient processes.
	The Government agree with Stern's assessment and regards initiatives to develop clean technologies as important complements to carbon pricing mechanisms such as the EU ETS.

Flood Control: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to review the system on which funding is allocated for flood defences.

Phil Woolas: Following public consultation in the spring, a set of measures has been developed to provide greater clarity on the outcomes to be achieved from flood and coastal erosion risk management funding and policies.
	The consultation included a range of approaches to investment prioritisation. We are working with the Environment Agency to develop an effective prioritisation process for the capital improvement programme in order to deliver the outcomes desired in future years. We anticipated that targets will be set for the capital programme on the basis of the new Outcome Measures from the next financial year and for maintenance activities from 2009-10.

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who has responsibility for measures to  (a) avoid and  (b) mitigate surface water flooding.

Phil Woolas: The information is as follows:
	 (a) New planning policy published by Communities and Local Government—Planning Policy Statement 25—aims to avoid and manage the risk of flooding to new development from all sources. Planning authorities should direct development to areas at least risk of flooding and consider how land use planning can reduce the risk of surface water flooding through the development of Surface Water Management Plans and sustainable drainage systems.
	 (b) For existing development, the impacts of surface water flooding can be mitigated by providing safe overland routes for the discharge of excess flows or improvements to below ground drainage. Below ground drainage is largely the responsibility of the water and sewerage companies for the public sewerage system, but also highway authorities for road drainage and private owners for drains and culverts on their land. Local planning authorities can ensure that drainage arrangements for surface water from new development do not impact on other areas.
	For the future, DEFRA is currently funding 15 pilot projects to identify improvements to the integrated management of urban drainage. We also intend to give the Environment Agency a strategic overview of all forms of flood risk, including from surface water.

Floods: Insurance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to ensure people who live in flood risk areas can afford insurance excesses following claims made as a result of flooding.

Phil Woolas: We are continuing to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to support our mutual aim of ensuring continued widespread availability of flood insurance cover. The ABI's commitments on this and associated undertakings by Government on effective flood risk management are set out in the Statement of Principles.
	Premiums and excesses are not covered by the Statement. These will reflect different degrees of risk and are a matter for individual insurers. Following the recent flooding, a Flood Recovery working group, consisting of representatives from Government departments and the ABI, has been established to consider issues around flood recovery and insurance.
	The Government have also asked the Financial Inclusion Taskforce to work with the insurance industry to develop options for promoting increased take-up of key insurance products amongst financially excluded households. The Government will consider the Taskforce's recommendations in developing a detailed action plan for financial inclusion later this year.

Assets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of taper relief since inception on the length of time  (a) business and  (b) non-business assets were held.

Jane Kennedy: Table 14.9 of the capital gains tax National Statistics provides statistics on the distribution of length of time assets have been held by type of asset.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/capital_gains/menu.htm
	Research carried out by Ipsos Mori on taxpayers' perceptions of the capital gains tax regime was published in December 2006.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/cgt-final-report26.pdf

Capital Gains Tax

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he plans to introduce tax relief from the new flat rate of capital gains tax announced in his pre-budget report for gains made on investments in second homes;
	(2)  what steps he will take to monitor the effect of the changes to capital gains tax announced in his pre-budget report on the  (a) number of and  (b) trends in purchasing second homes.

Jane Kennedy: The 2007 pre-Budget report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime. The Government keep all aspects of tax policy under review.

Industrial Building Allowances: Hotels

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many hotel businesses are claiming the industrial buildings allowance.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available. HMRC publishes information on the total industrial buildings allowances claimed against corporation tax broken down by sector. The latest information, to 2005, is available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11-10.pdf

Manpower: Government Departments

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the employee surveys relating to his Department for  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the former Financial Secretary (Mr. Healey) gave on 1 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1489W.

National Insurance Contributions

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was raised from national insurance contributions in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06 and  (c) 2006-07.

Jane Kennedy: Information on receipts of national insurance contributions is published in Table 1.2 on the HMRC website. A link to the most recent publication is given as follows.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf

Revenue and Customs: Buildings

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors are taken into account when taking decisions on consolidation of the HM Revenue and Customs estate at regional level.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC considers the impact of its plans on customers, staff, business efficiency, diversity and the local community before making decisions. The plans are subject to a widespread consultation process with staff, trade unions, MPs, local authorities and other interests. This provides an opportunity for further information to be provided to the HMRC review team.

Taxation: Car Allowances

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review  (a) the upper ceiling on mileage payments for volunteer car drivers of 40 pence per mile and  (b) the threshold of 10,000 miles above which mileage allowances are taxed.

Jane Kennedy: There is no upper ceiling on mileage payments for volunteer car drivers. HMRC allows volunteers to use the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rate for convenience, but it is not mandatory and volunteer drivers can claim tax relief for the full cost of motoring by completing a return, if they wish to do so.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fines were issued for the late return of income tax returns by each tax office in England and Wales in each year from 2000 to 2005; and how many of those fines were subsequently refunded in each of those years.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the written reply given on 17( )November 2005,  Official Report, column 1517W. The table provides details of penalty notices issued for failure to file self assessment tax returns by the due date for the latest full years 2005-06 and 2006-07. As stated in the earlier reply, no details are held regarding the numbers of penalties subsequently refunded.
	
		
			  Locations  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Beds/W. Herts 25,826 26,429 
			 Berks. 16,957 16,841 
			 Birm Solihull 28,396 29,720 
			 Bris/N. Somst 34,277 36,951 
			 Cambs. 18,233 18,676 
			 Cent. Yorks 23,966 25,556 
			 Chapel W. 85,694 82,835 
			 Claims — 102 
			 Cornwll/Plym 51,151 54,942 
			 Cumbria 7,465 7,229 
			 Devon 31,837 33,094 
			 Dors/S. Wilts 5,848 6,144 
			 E. Ches/S. Lancs 23,915 25,212 
			 E. Hamp/Wight 35,568 40,653 
			 E. Hert/W. Ess 21,134 20,041 
			 E. Lancs 20,257 20,544 
			 G. Belfast 11,899 12,935 
			 Glos/N. Wilts 19,123 19,044 
			 Humber 20,659 20,730 
			 Kent 54,822 54,828 
			 LBO 1,158 1,167 
			 Leic/Northnt 51,102 61,639 
			 Lincoln 12,514 12,670 
			 Lisburn 3,410 3,752 
			 London 1,592 902 
			 Lothians 42,264 51,709 
			 Manchester 22,390 22,529 
			 Merseyside 26,821 27,322 
			 Midlands W 13,432 13,564 
			 N. E. Metro 46,208 50,781 
			 N. I. Counties 27,712 30,293 
			 Norfolk 25,804 26,621 
			 Northumbria 15,427 15,902 
			 Notts/Derby 27,479 29,780 
			 N. Wales 25,939 30,309 
			 NW Lancs 17,456 17,546 
			 NW Mids/Shrop 21,559 24,236 
			 N. Yorks 14,416 14,179 
			 Oxon/Bucks 24,449 23,760 
			 PD1 3,529 3,009 
			 CNR 38,832 34,865 
			 Scot Cent 14,502 12,490 
			 Scot East 8,793 7,745 
			 Scotland West 13,907 11,616 
			 Scot North 9,736 8,374 
			 Scot Sch E W 52,460 62,959 
			 Scot South 14,086 13,856 
			 Sefton 94,959 102,608 
			 S. Essex 20,716 19,184 
			 Somerset 11,902 12,393 
			 Staffs. 17,930 18,555 
			 Suff and N. Ex 31,644 33,143 
			 Surr/N. Hamp 23,007 22,438 
			 Sussex 35,304 37,199 
			 S. Wales 58,756 61,207 
			 S. Yorks 25,759 27,838 
			 Tees Valley 52,822 55,698 
			 Trusts 17,578 15,885 
			 Warck/Cov 20,309 20,178 
			 Wear/S. Tyne 12,630 12,537 
			 W. Hampshire 24,497 26,180 
			 W. Lancs/W. Ches 26,342 28,540 
			 Worcs/Herefd 14,037 14,139 
			 W. Wales 15,891 16,721 
			 W. York/Cravn 40,796 44,717 
			 Total 1,658,883 1,735,241

Police Custody

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted prisoners have been held overnight in police cells or custody suites in Wales; and for how many nights each prisoner has been so held, broken down by police force area.

David Hanson: Figures for convicted prisoners are not held separately. Between 22 January and 7 November 2007, convicted and remand prisoners were held under Operation Safeguard in police cells in Wales on 3,863 occasions. The number of occasions does not correspond precisely to the number of prisoners: one occasion means one prisoner night in a police cell.
	This total breaks down by police force as follows:
	 [Official Report, 20 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 7MC.]
	
		
			   Number 
			 Dyfed Powys 615 
			 South Wales 1,054 
			 North Wales 1,478 
			 Gwent 716

Police: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers in each of the Welsh prison establishments  (a) retired on ill health grounds,  (b) took early retirement and  (c) were dismissed from the Prison Service in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: Information on officer grade staff leaving Welsh prisons is shown in the following table. Information is only available from 1998.
	
		
			  Prison officers, senior officers and principal officers leaving from Welsh prisons—1998 to 2007 
			  Establishment  Reason  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Cardiff Medical retirement 3 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 — 
			  Early retirement (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— — — 2 1 — — 
			  Dismissals — — 1 1 3 — — — 1 — 
			 
			 Swansea Medical retirement 2 3 1 1 1 2 — — 1 — 
			  Early retirement (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— — — — — — — 
			  Dismissals — — 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			 
			 Usk/Prescoed Medical retirement 1 2 — — — — — — — — 
			  Early retirement (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— — — — — — — 
			  Dismissals — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 
			 Parc Medical retirement — — — — — — — — — — 
			  Early retirement — — — — — — — — — — 
			  Dismissals 2 6 5 2 2 1 1 9 6 8 
			 
			 Total — 8 12 10 7 9 6 4 12 9 8 
			 (1) Age at retirement was not recorded prior to 2002.

Youth Juries

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of the proposed pilot on youth juries is; what the objectives of the policy are; whether there are any plans to extend this beyond Lancashire; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Peer Panels in Lancashire were awarded just under £487,500 under a Treasury's Invest to Save Bid award. In addition they were given a further £150,000 by local partners, the community safety partnership 'Safer Preston'. For the Treasury funds to be awarded over the three years, the project must meet the objectives agreed with the Treasury at the time of the bid.
	The aim of Peer Panels is to reduce the number of young people reaching court unnecessarily, for petty low level offences. Such offences are not always in the public interest to prosecute and therefore this exciting and innovative scheme seeks to reduce the burden on Courts and Youth Offender Teams' time and resources which will allow them to deal with more serious cases more effectively.
	The Government await the outcomes of the Peer Panel evaluations before any decisions are made on whether this scheme should be extended beyond Lancashire.

Police: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will, with the Policing Board, review the underlying basis for consideration of the location of the police training college in the light of the forthcoming availability as a potential police college of the Ballykelly army base.

Paul Goggins: The Government's overriding priority is to make sure that we have a new, high quality and integrated public services training college. Desertcreat has been chosen as the preferred site after very careful consideration and there is no intention to re-open consideration of the site.

Fire Services: Manpower

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters employed by fire authorities in England reside in Wales.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not centrally held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Fire Services: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government have taken to improve fire services in the West Midlands.

Parmjit Dhanda: Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for their own improvement. The Government set out performance expectations in the Fire and Rescue National Framework. The Audit Commission regularly assesses the performance of all fire and rescue authorities, identifies areas of strengths and areas for improvement which fire and rescue authorities are expected to address. The Government fund the Audit Commission for conducting this work. In 2005, the Audit Commission assessed West Midlands fire and rescue authority as "good" in the comprehensive performance assessment for the fire and rescue service. Since then, the West Midlands has been judged as "improving well" by the Audit Commission in their 2006-07 performance assessment work and as "performing well" in their use of resources and delivery of value for money and in their front line service delivery.
	In addition to their performance assessment work, the Audit Commission has a local "relationship manager" for each fire and rescue authority who can provide ongoing advice to authorities on improvement issues. Fire and rescue authorities also have access to the joint Communities and Local Government and Local Government Association capacity building programme through their Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

Floods: Cornwall

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what financial assistance her Department provided to the town of Boscastle following flooding there.

John Healey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Environment (Mr. Woolas) on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 719W.

Local Area Agreements

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will publish guidance on local area agreements.

John Healey: Guidance on the negotiation of new Local Area Agreements (LAAs) was published on the Communities and Local Government website in September
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/negotiatingnewlaas
	This was the first part of operational guidance and the second part which will deal with the technical issues around implementation of the new framework for LAAs will be published shortly.
	The Government will also shortly be publishing draft statutory guidance 'Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities' to accompany sections of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, including Local Area Agreement clauses (clauses 103-118 of the Act). This guidance will set out what the different stages of the new statutory LAA process will look like together with what will be expected from the upper-tier local authorities responsible for preparing an LAA and their partners. This guidance will be finalised in the new year following consultation.

Local Authorities: Standards

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the minimum number of national indicators is that local authorities will be able to select to set targets for their performance.

John Healey: The Local Area Agreement (LAA) will consist of local improvement targets which have been designated by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and non-designated local improvement targets which the local authority and it partners may decide to include in the agreement if they consider it necessary. All designated targets will be drawn from the national indicator set and based on the priorities agreed for the local area. The minimum number of designated targets in each agreement has not been specified but will be subject to negotiation. However, there will be a maximum of 35 in each LAA.

Quarrying: Hampshire

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to issue Hampshire County Council with revised tonnages for sand and gravel extraction for the purposes of formulating the Hampshire Regional Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The South East England Regional Assembly, as the relevant regional planning body, is currently preparing a revised sub-regional apportionment of primary land-won aggregates as a partial review of the draft South East Plan. The Regional Assembly's present timetable envisages that this policy review would be subject to a pre-submission public consultation between May and July 2008, and a final submission of the recommended policy to the Secretary of State in December 2008. There would then be a further public consultation followed by an examination in public in 2009. The date that the approved revised sub-regional apportionment will be published will depend upon how long this process takes. But we would expect to do so in the second half of 2009.

Schools: Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued to Schools Fora on the proportion of a local authority's Bellwin threshold costs which they ought to meet from the dedicated schools grant.

John Healey: No separate guidance has been issued to Schools Fora.

Children: Maintenance

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the costs of setting up the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission as a non-departmental public body.

James Plaskitt: Officials are currently developing plans to establish the Commission. As these plans are still under development cost estimates are subject to change and it is therefore not possible to provide the requested information at this time. We expect to have robust cost estimates by the time the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill receives Royal Assent.

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to implement their responsibilities under the European Charter for Minority and Regional Languages since signing the Charter.

Jim Murphy: The UK ratified the European Charter for Minority Languages on 27 March 2001 and the charter entered into force for the UK on 1 July 2001. The UK recognises Welsh, Irish, Scottish-Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx Gaelic, Cornish and Scots under the charter's definition of a regional or minority language.
	The charter's monitoring mechanism requires member states party to the charter to produce, a year after entry into force of the charter for the state and thereafter every three years, a periodical report detailing the policy pursued under Part II of the charter and the measures taken in application of those provisions of Part III of the charter which they have accepted. Since ratification the UK has produced two such periodical reports, the first published on 1 July 2002 and the second on 1 July 2005. The UK's third periodical report is due for publication on 1 July 2008.
	The UK's first and second periodical reports can be found on the Council of Europe website at:
	http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/local_and_ regional_democracy/regional_or_minority_languages/ 2_Monitoring/Monitoring_table.asp#TopOfPage

Guantanamo Bay: Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration on his request for the release of Shaker Aamer, Jamil El Banna, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed and Abdennour Sameur from Guantanamo Bay; what assessment he has made of the likelihood of their release; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on 7 August to request the release from Guantanamo Bay and return to the UK of five men (Shaker Aamer, Jamil El Banna, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed and Abdennour Sameur) who, while not British nationals, were legally resident here prior to their detention.
	Discussions with the US administration are ongoing and are confidential between our governments. While we continue to give the matter due priority, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful.

Guatemala: Children

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Guatemala on the level of violence against street children in that country.

Meg Munn: Our embassy in Guatemala City, along with EU colleagues, regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Guatemala. We continue to urge Guatemala to improve security and health provision for the most vulnerable sectors of society, including street children.
	On 15 October the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) hosted a meeting between Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gert Rosenthal and several non-governmental organisations, including Christian Aid, Amnesty International and Casa Alianza. The non-governmental organisations were able to put their concerns directly to the delegation. Child rights and the problems faced by street children including the alarming number of murders were discussed. On 30 October, FCO officials in London held a discussion forum with a number of international child rights non-governmental organisations to identify further opportunities for intervention.
	On 25 September our Ambassador in Guatemala City, in partnership with EU ambassadors, met with Alvaro Colom (since elected as the next President of Guatemala). They discussed a range of human rights issues. Our ambassador emphasised the importance of improving the protection and rights of children and undertook to develop this dialogue further with the new administration. The FCO also sponsored a project earlier this year in which 800 Guatemalan police officers were trained in the rights of street children.

Iraq: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department's personnel are in each province of Iraq; what role they are playing in each province; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: There are 42 Foreign and Commonwealth Office personnel employed in Iraq. Publicising the exact numbers in each province would risk compromising their security. They are supporting the democratically elected government of Iraq in their efforts to forge a future for the country based on reconciliation, democracy, good governance, economic prosperity and regional security.

Iraq: Resettlement

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the assistance package to locally employed staff in Iraq is limited to those staff who have attained 12 months or more continuous service; and if he will make the assistance available to all locally employed staff who are made redundant or have to resign from their job because of what the Government judges to be exceptional circumstances.

Kim Howells: We are focusing on those staff who have given us dedicated service over a period of time. Staff who have not yet worked for us for 12 months, but reach that mark in future will become eligible at that time. A 12 month requirement is not unique to the UK—it is also a feature of the US Special Immigrant Visa programme for their Iraqi staff. We have no plans to extend the assistance scheme.

Iraq: Security Guards

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what private contractors have provided protection services for his Department in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2003.

Kim Howells: The information requested by the hon. Member is as follows:
	 Iraq
	2003: Control Risks
	2004: Armorgroup, Control Risks
	2005: Armorgroup, Control Risks
	2006: Armorgroup, Control Risks, GardaWorld (formerly Kroll Security Group)
	2007: Control Risks, GardaWorld
	Armorgroup provided static security until 2006, when GardaWorld (formerly Kroll Security Group) took over this contract. Control Risks provide mobile security. Both contracts were subject to a retender in early 2006.
	 Afghanistan
	2003: Armorgroup
	2004: Armorgroup
	2005: Armorgroup, Edinburgh International
	2006: Armorgroup, Edinburgh International
	2007: Armorgroup
	Armorgroup provide both static and mobile security. This contract was subject to a retender in late 2006. Edinburgh International provided a one-off contract for both static and mobile security services for a project between 2005-06.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ensures that all contracts are subject to a rigorous selection process so that we obtain best value for money. Any company engaged by the FCO needs to pass through a stringent and transparent procurement process in line with public procurement guidelines and best practice.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with President Musharraf of Pakistan on the situation in that country; and what steps he plans to take in relation to the replacement of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to President Musharraf on 1 November. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to Prime Minister Aziz and to Foreign Minister Kasuri on 5 November. In all cases, we stressed the vital importance that we place on Pakistan acting quickly to restore the constitution and the rule of law, which includes a legitimate and independent judiciary.
	I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 7 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 130-32.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Pakistan.

Kim Howells: We are gravely concerned by the political situation in Pakistan. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, are working closely with our international partners to urge the government of Pakistan to ensure free and fair elections by 15 January, to release all political prisoners, to lift media restrictions and to honour the commitment that President Musharraf steps down as Chief of Army Staff by 15 November.
	I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 7 November,  Official Report, columns 130-132.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what tests are carried out on commercial aircraft to measure levels of tricresyl phosphate in cabin air.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The House of Lords Committee on Science and Technology looked into the organophosphate known as TOCP (tri-ortho cresyl phosphate) in 2000, and concluded that
	"the very low levels of TOCP that would be found even in the highly unlikely worst case of contamination from oil leaking into the air supply lead us to conclude that the concerns about significant risk to the health of airline passengers and crew are not substantiated."
	The Committee looked again at this matter during its inquiry into Aviation Health in July of this year and took evidence from aviation stakeholders and Ministers. We await its report.
	Typically cabin air is changed every 2-3 minutes and cockpit air every minute; so tests on cabin air need sampling equipment which can pick up transient contaminants. The Department for Transport has commissioned the testing of equipment which may be capable of capturing substances released during fume events. Subject to the results of this testing, the Department hopes to begin a study later this year or early next year.
	That study will be designed to detect any potentially harmful substances, rather than focus on named substances, as recommended by the independent Committee on Toxicity which reported into cabin air on 20 September 2007.

Motor Vehicles: Glass

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness amongst drivers of the existence of the visual light transmission standard for vehicle window tint imposed by Regulation 32 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information was made available in 2003 when we consulted on amendments to the regulations covering tinted windows. A press release was issued at the time and when the new requirements took effect, from 1 January 2004, a leaflet was produced by VOSA. There is information on the direct.gov website about tinted windows including a link to the VOSA leaflet which sets out the position.
	There have been no changes to the requirements since January 2004. However as a new version of the Highway Code was produced we took the opportunity to include a reference to excessively tinted windows in the code.

Railway Stations: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional trains under the new timetable will be stopping at central Milton Keynes train station once the work at the station is complete.

Tom Harris: In the draft December 2008 timetable, the number of long distance trains calling at Milton Keynes every hour is set to increase from two to three providing passengers with direct trains to destinations such as London, Manchester and Birmingham.
	The level of services to local stations and other destinations served by the London Midland franchise (which took over from Silverlink on 11 November 2007) remains broadly as it was previously.

Railways: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate her Department made of railway passenger numbers in London in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Statistics on passenger rail journeys are published by the Office of Rail Regulation in National Rail Trends. The Yearbook editions contain regional passenger journeys in and between regions. These are available in the House Library or from their website:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk.
	Statistics on the number of passengers using rail travel are based on ticket sales, rather than actual passenger numbers. The data is obtained from the ticketing database LENNON. The regional passenger figures are sourced from the Historic Rail Database, an annual compendium of LENNON.

Roads: Accidents

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the relationship between the number of speeding convictions and the number of road traffic accidents in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of speeding convictions and road traffic accidents in the last three years for which figures are available are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of convictions  Number of accidents 
			 2003 2,066,000 214,030 
			 2004 2,104,000 207,410 
			 2005 2,118.900 198,735 
		
	
	No assessment has been made of the relationship between the two.
	However, extensive research published by Professor Stephen Stradling, Napier university, Edinburgh in May 2006 on behalf of the Midlands Partnership Group, found that drivers who have been detected speeding by cameras are almost twice as likely to have had a collision as those who have not, regardless of age or mileage. Three quarters of drivers reporting four or more points on their licence also reported collision involvement, compared with 42 per cent. of drivers with a clean licence.
	Furthermore the four-year independent evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in December 2005 and covering the period 2000 to 2004 confirms that there is an association between changes in speed and casualties. This found that there had been a reduction of 6 per cent. in average speeds, a 42 per cent. reduction in killed and serious injuries and a 22 per cent. reduction in personal injury collisions at camera sites.

Roads: Finance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital has been allocated by local authorities to new road projects in Huddersfield since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Kirklees Metropolitan borough council is responsible for local transport in Huddersfield. Since 1997, Kirklees has not submitted any requests for funding to this Department for new local major road schemes. However, in September 2007, Ministers agreed to provide £15 million for a scheme to repair nine bridges and 3.5 km of retaining walls on the highway maintained by Kirklees Metropolitan borough council.
	The following table shows the funding through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) settlement that has been allocated to Kirklees Metropolitan borough council since 1997. It is for Kirklees Metropolitan borough council to determine how their LTP allocation is spent, in line with the LTP for West Yorkshire and local priorities.
	
		
			   Capital highway maintenance  Integrated block  Total  Major schemes 
			 1998-99 1.374 1.418 2.792 0 
			 1999-2000 3.752 1.468 5.220 0 
			 2000-01 6.227 6.227 0 
			 2001-02 6.163 4.350 10.513 0 
			 2002-03 6.405 3.746 10.151 0 
			 2003-04 6.646 3.529 10.175 0 
			 2004-05 8.398 3.554 11.952 0 
			 2005-06 8.343 3.465 11.808 0 
			 2006-07 5.851 3.837 9.688 2.098 
			 2007-08 8.319 3.271 11.590 3.122 
			  Note: The major scheme total for 2006-07 includes expenditure incurred by the authority prior to the approval of their scheme which is to be reimbursed to the authority. The 2007-08 figure is the current forecast expenditure.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on highway maintenance and improvement in each year since 1997-98.

Rosie Winterton: Expenditure data on highways in England are provided in table 8.2 of the National Road Maintenance Condition Survey (NRMCS) report for 2006, published in May 2007 and available in the Library of the House. The figures distinguish between structural and routine maintenance rather than maintenance and improvement.

Speed Cameras: Huddersfield

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras there are in Huddersfield constituency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held by the Department. Since 1 April 2007 the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The number of cameras in place in Huddersfield, will therefore be a matter for the West Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership.

Waterloo Station

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the increased platform capacity will be for Waterloo station when Eurostar services move to St. Pancras International.

Tom Harris: The Department is working closely with Network Rail and Stagecoach South West Trains (the train operating company) to finalise the design and costs associated with the use of one extra platform—platform 20—at Waterloo International by some domestic passenger services from December 2008.
	Options for the medium to long term use of all of the platforms at Waterloo are being assessed by the Department and Network Rail as part of a wider strategy for the upgrade of the station.

Defence: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated cost is of Package 1 of the Defence Training Review Rationalisation Programme.

Bob Ainsworth: The through life cost for Package 1 of the Defence Training Review Rationalisation Programme is anticipated to be £11 billion. This figure takes account of inflation over 30 years including its effect on manpower costs, construction and maintenance charges.

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Reform

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct the West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust to give weight to the petition organised by the Worcester News on service restructuring commensurate with the 2,092 signatures gathered; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: This is a matter for the West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust as the consultation on proposed charges to Emergency Operations Centres was locally led. Therefore, the West Midlands Ambulance Service would be in the best position to provide more details about the arrangements in place in this area.
	The Department of Health is clear that arrangements for where ambulance service control rooms are situated, and how calls into the control rooms are received, are a matter for the individual ambulance services themselves.

Sports: Clubs

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether sports clubs whose members pay for their membership by instalments are required to hold consumer credit licences; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Consumer Credit Act requires that most businesses that offer goods or services on credit hold a consumer credit licence. Golf clubs and other private sports clubs which allow for payment of annual membership fees in more than four instalments may need a consumer credit licence. However, whether or not a licence is required will be dependent on the individual circumstances applicable to the operation of each individual club such as whether or not the club is classified as 'carrying on a business', if so whether this would be classified as 'occasional business' and whether the particular club's agreements might be subject to any exemptions.
	Given that unlicensed trading is a criminal offence, the Office of Fair Trading advice has been for clubs to apply for a consumer credit licence if they are in any doubt.
	Agreements between clubs and their members may involve substantial loans and as such are as appropriately subject to regulation under the Consumer Credit Act as other types of agreements where credit is provided.

Basic Needs Allocation

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he intends to review the formula for the basic needs allocation; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I had a discussion on this issue with the hon. Member and with my hon. Friend (Dr. Starkey), on Wednesday 7 November. I explained that it was not practicable to change the basic needs formula , as such a change would have a knock-on effect on allocations to all other authorities. I also said that I would ask my officials, working with Milton Keynes' officials, to review the position of that authority and to report back to me.